Solenopsis abdita Thompson 1989

Solenopsis abdita Thompson, 1989 (Figure 34) Solenopsis abdita Thompson, 1989, p. 275, figs. 1–4 (w.q.m.) USA (Florida). Nearctic. Diagnosis Worker. Monomorphic species; uniform yellow or golden yellow, with coarse punctures present on cephalic surface; eyes minute with 2–5 ommatidia, more frequently 2; dorsum of mesosoma smoothly curved; metanotal groove sharply impressed in profile; postpetiole about 1.3× broader than long in dorsal view; abundant and long setae sparse on mesosoma, petiole, postpetiole, and gaster; more than 10 erect setae on dorsum of promesonotum; body surfaces smooth and shining. Material examined One site: B. Geographic range. This species was originally described from Florida (USA) (Thompson 1989). Sharaf and Aldawood (2011) reported this species from Riyadh, KSA, misidentifying it as a new species), but later recognising it as invasive in the Arabian Peninsula (Sharaf et al. 2020c). Ecology and biology. Solenopsis abdita has diverse nesting habits including mesic habitats of sandhill, swamp forests, rotten palm logs (Thompson 1989; Deyrup 2017), rotten wood, pine-oak forests, pine wetlands, under stones, in leaf litter, in moist soil at the base of date palm trees of KSA, with dead and decaying dates (Sharaf and Aldawood 2011), and a long-unburned sand pine scrub in Highlands County (Pacheco and Mackay 2013). In the KSA, S. abdita was found coexisting with numerous ant species including N. jaegerskioeldi (Mayr), Tapinoma simrothi Krausse, Brachymyrmex cordemoyi Forel, M. exiguum Forel and Tetramorium caldarium (Roger) (Sharaf and Aldawood 2011). Molecular technology has confirmed the new biological invasion status of this species in the KSA (Sharaf et al. 2020c). For further details on the biology and habitats of the species see Thompson (1989).